Pacific ships

Photos and the story

Kenneth M. Willett

Back to Kenneth M. Willett

ClassJohn C. Butler class
TypeDestroyer escort (DE)
HullDE-354
BuilderConsolidated Steel Corporation, Orange, Texas
Launched1944-03-07
Commissioned1944-07-19
FateAfloat. Her commissioned service ended on 26 February 1959. The Navy later expended her as a target.
Armament (class)Destroyer escort. Two 5-inch guns and one funnel, on a shorter hull.
Command

Laid down, displacement, length, beam, draft, speed, and complement are not stored for each hull, so this table leaves them out.

The armament line is the class drawing, not a measurement of this hull.

Kenneth M. Willett
US Navy photographer. Aerial view of USS Kenneth M. Willett off Cape Cod September 1944 (80-G-280047).jpg. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Kenneth M. Willett, hull DE-354, belonged to the John C. Butler class of destroyer escorts. Consolidated Steel Corporation, at Orange, Texas, laid her down on 10 January 1944 and launched her on 7 March 1944. The Navy commissioned her on 19 July 1944. Her first commanding officer was Lieutenant Commander J. M. Stuart.

Her Pacific duty took her to Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, Leyte, and the Philippines.

Her commissioned service ended on 26 February 1959. The Navy later expended her as a target.

The pictures on this page are the originals.